Austin Black says the council's action says "the city is not open for business." / KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DFP

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Two groups of people killed a proposed deal to let the state lease Belle Isle from the City of Detroit. And I'm not talking about the Detroit City Council.

The first was the vocal minority that turned up at city hall and berated the council members who were poised to accept help with a job the city can no longer afford. The second was the silent majority that continues to let a minority determine the city's fate.

Now, two things are true: Belle Isle still languishes, except for the valiant efforts of the small, but determined Belle Isle Conservancy. And this year's City Council elections -- the first by district in nearly a century -- may become a referendum on Belle Isle and other missed chances that voters can blame on current council members.

The council, by refusing to vote on a state lease, defied what most Detroiters wanted: 66% of them, according to a news poll last fall, approved of the deal. And some voters, rather than speak at council hearings, plan to make their voices heard at the polls.

The city's best interests

Austin Black, 32, a real estate broker and owner of City Living Detroit, is one.

"If it were an ideal situation, Detroit would be in a position to take care of things without outside help. But ... we cannot afford to do everything," he said. "The message it sends ... is that the city is not open for business. City government is not willing to compromise."

Come August, Black said, he "will be voting for the candidates that have a full understanding of the city's challenges and are willing to put ego aside and look at the best interests of the city."

Liz Blondy, owner of the Canine to Five pet care facility, agreed.

"I was really disappointed. I spend a lot of time driving from my house in Eastern Market to various state recreation areas close by," she said. "Every time I go, I'm just struck by the cleanliness, the niceness. There's a drinking fountain that works. You just rode your bike for 20 miles, and there's a bathroom you can use. There's not garbage on the ground."

Blondy said that as a child, she attended summer camps at the Detroit Boat Club and is heartbroken by the island's decline.

"It's filthy, and I've participated in cleanups. I don't understand why when someone was willing to take responsibility, the council decided no. I would never vote for anybody who voted down the Belle Isle deal."

William Barlage president of the East English Village Association for 14 years, said council member Andre Spivey seemed to favor turning Belle Isle into a state park. But Barlage said he got calls while he was away on business that the governor had taken the deal off the table. Spivey had voted with the majority.

"I'm looking at the bigger picture here," Barlage said. "I still believe in him, but I think there are other possibilities within our portion of the district for people who could be running. The commitment to not taking a vote was second nature to some council members. They don't take action when positive action is warranted.

"In elections this year, people will remember this in a massive, immense way," he said. "This was a clear, clear message from City Council that they do not have their act together one more time, so it will be taken to the polls."

The Belle Isle vote was a stark reminder of something else, Blondy said. She said it appears that the city cannot handle the large or small problems.

"I love Belle Isle," she said, "But you could take Belle Isle away from me if the streetlights between my home and my business worked or the Detroit police come when I call. I'd give up Belle Isle for the other things."

Help from all

And what of Belle Isle?

It will survive and thrive only if we stand together and work together to fix it. That will take cooperation and collaboration and compromise, three C's that usually are in short supply in Detroit.

"The only way Belle Isle gets fixed is with a public-private partnership, like the riverfront, like M-1 (Rail) and other projects," said Matt Cullen, CEO of Rock Ventures and chairman of the board of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, which I believe should include Belle Isle in its mission.

Cullen said it would require every level of government being engaged as it was with those projects, and it requires the private community and philanthropic community to help out, as well.

"Is it possible? Yes it's possible," Cullen said.

Like Cullen, George Jackson, president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., said he thinks the governor's deal was best for Belle Isle, and he would still like to see it work. But if it doesn't, something else must.

"We have to work on ways to restore the island," he said. "I'm not willing to give up on it being a state park. But in one way, shape or form, it has to be something other than the status quo. The status quo is unacceptable to everyone."

Cullen said rescuing the island requires three things: a plan, a governance structure and financial resources.

Cobo Hall was falling apart until a regional collaborative authority began running it.

The Detroit River banks were a mess until a public-private collaborative partnership transformed the riverfront.

The wall between Detroit and its suburbs, once higher than the former one in Berlin, is falling. We're taking it down brick by brick, project by project.

While the city works on keeping the lights on and the streets safe, Belle Isle should be next for everyone else -- including that silent majority that must be quiet no more.